oday's guest made a contrarian bet with his acquisition.

Contrarianism is something we don't often see in our world, where risk is more acute owing to the high leverage we use to buy businesses.

George Stern bought an SEO agency.

As you might guess, the perception is that traditional search engine optimization is very much in flux as ChatGPT changes consumer searching habits.

For the first time in 25 years, the dominance of Google's blue links is in question.

George's bet is that SEO will stabilize around new practices and business models that incorporate answer engines like ChatGPT, and will ultimately thrive. And he will have entered the industry with a great team and at a good price, when the future was uncertain.

And the bear case?

Well even if SEO does decline, that gradual process will take many years. Consumer habits as they pertain to George's marketing agency will persist for much longer than people think.

What do you think?

Please enjoy this interview with George Stern, owner of Growth Marketing Media.